Channel Tunnel

Spotlight:

Entering the Channel Tunnel

Fifteen years ago today, the Channel Tunnel linking England to France officially opened. Hailed as one of the century's greatest feats of civil engineering, it took some 15,000 workers seven years to dig the 50 kilometer/31 mile long underwater tunnels below the English Channel, from Folkestone to Coquelles (near Calais). Popularly known as the Chunnel, it consists of three tunnels: two rail tunnels and a central service tunnel for maintenance and ventilation. Passengers can travel either by ordinary rail coach or within their own motor vehicles, which are loaded onto special rail cars. With trains traveling through the tunnel at speeds as high as 100 miles (160 km) per hour, the trip takes about 35 minutes.

Quote:

"France is delighted at this new opportunity to show the world that when one has the will one can succeed in joining peoples who have been brought close by history." — François Mitterand, announcing plans for the Channel Tunnel in 1986